Hosted by US Environmental Protection Agency
Wildfire Smoke Air Monitoring Response Technology (WSMART)
Wildfires are a major source of poor air quality across the U.S. The regulatory monitoring network is unable to capture the spatial and temporal gradients of many smoke plumes, providing limited information to support emergency response teams and impacted communities. EPA’s Office of Research and Development recognized this monitoring gap and scaled up a research effort to develop and advance air monitoring technologies for wildfire smoke. The Wildfire SMoke Air monitoring Response Technology (WSMART) loan program provides emerging technologies to air quality emergency responders.
This webinar will cover the WSMART technologies, the loan process, highlights from over 50 loans, and insights about using these tools for monitoring wildfire smoke.
EPA and Forest Service AirNow Fire and Smoke Map
The U.S. EPA and the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service developed the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map to provide the public information on fire locations, smoke plumes, near real-time air quality, Smoke Outlooks for large U.S. wildfires, and protective actions to take – all in one place. The map pulls data from air monitors that regularly report to AirNow, temporary monitors such as those the Forest Service and air agencies have deployed near fires, and crowd-sourced data from nearly 17,000 low-cost sensors in the U.S. and Canada that measure fine particle pollution, the major harmful pollutant in smoke. People across the nation can use this information about wildfire smoke and air quality to reduce their exposure and protect their health.
The webinar will review the key features of the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map and team experience in building trust and familiarity in the map and PM2.5 air quality sensors.